shimming springs?

Well I got my car smogged and while at it I had the shop diagnose an annoying rear end clunk. I had already changed plenty of rear suspension parts but the clunk persisted. Turns out my rear springs are sagging. The mechanic lubed the mess up which quited it down some. Basically I have two choices as of where to go from here.

Either I say to hell with those springs and replace them with new springs and shims, the springs are only 70$ per side and the shims another 10$ so for maybe 180$ I get it taken care of and after a little tuning and a fixing a small transmission leak the car is ready to run.

Or I can buy a couple sets of shims for around 40-50$ and shim the springs to fix the rear end ride height and hopefully fix the clunk. This would allow me to save my money for some sport springs but those things are like 600$ for a set, which need to be ordered from europe so it is a pain.

What do you guys think the best solution is? Is shimming a viable solution or will I end up having to replace the springs down the road?

What car?

I doubt anyone on THIS board ever paid $600 for a set of springs. There are other options.

Springs don't make noise. Clunk would be spring attachment, bump stop, or other wear point.

Shim- do you mean those old style shims that jam in between the coils of the spring? They don't fix anything- they steal some of the effectiveness of the spring by essentially removing a coil or 2. I don't like them (although I have them on 1 car).

If the car is your '78 MB, then go for the new OEM's. You'll be amazed at the improvement. Unless you've done something very special to that car, it's unlikely it's performance level will warrant the expensive springs.

I'd go with the OEM's, cut a coil, and add a stiffer roll bar to counter the luxury body roll.

Thanks for the information, SVreX. I think for the 70$ a side I will go for new springs. Especially since I read I don't need a special spring compressor on the rear springs.

Prices for "performance" parts for a mercedes 107 are out of control. I have fresh shocks so I figure if the mechanic says the coils are gone they probably are.

Someone was advocating using the shims to fix the problem but it sounds like I'd rather stick to stock springs and regular shims to cure my problems.

Thank you!

Measure the spring diameter and head for the junkyard. When my dad raced his Monte Carlo they weren't allowed jack bolts and he was cheap. He would cut down A full size Cadilac spring to get the rate he wanted, then shim it with a Chevy v-8 crank pully he torched the center out of. The spring fit perfectly in some of the pulleys and the shock passed through the hole he cut in the middle.

Wally is describing what I alluded to earlier- you can get similar performance in junkyard stock parts from other heavier vehicles. It's pretty common on this board.

However, If you are happy with the cost of the OEM's, I still suggest them. You'll save a lot of headaches and time, and realize very noticeable improvements.

I have no doubt your springs are worn. But look for something else while you are in there. Something is loose or broken- Springs don't make noise.